27 November 2009

Nairobi — Kenya's economic growth is still depressed but signs of recovery are starting to emerge, the country's top economic advisory organ has said. The Monetary Policy Committee, which advises the Central Bank of Kenya on how to manage the economy, noted that credit risk is easing increasing stability in the banking sector.

The MPC chairman and CBK governor, Prof Njuguna Ndung'u, said the amount of credit available on the market has been growing a demonstration that the economy is slowly showing signs of growth.

"The moment you see credit availability increasing, then the economy is recovering," the governor said at a press briefing to explain the committee's decision to cut the key central bank rate by 75 basis points to 7 per cent early this week.

Already, some key economic barometers are showing positive signs of picking up. For instance, tourist numbers are growing, and tea output and cement production are also on the increase. "All these indicators presaged a confident growth environment for the future," Prof Ndung'u said.

Stress tests on commercial banks indicated gross non-performing loans had declined, while the ratio of net non-performing loans to total loans had also fallen. Prof Ndung'u said there is need to support the economy by providing a conducive environment for growth.

Upward trend

He said tax receipts for the third quarter had been on an upward trend since the first three months of the year and showed there was no threat of a domestic financing constraint. The country's economy grew by 7.1 per cent in 2007, but the global financial crisis, post-election violence and drought brought down the figure to 1.7 per cent in last year.

With the new reduced central bank rate (CBR) and low inflation figure, the governor anticipates that banks will respond by cutting their charges and lending rates. "You as the customer of a bank, have a weapon - the CBR and lower inflation rate, now to use to bargain for loan interest rates. We have 45 banks; it is up to you to negotiate. It is willing seller willing buyer market," he said.

Average lending rates have remained above 14 per cent over the last year but have cooled off in recent months from a June peak of 15.09 per cent to the current rate of about 14.74. Inflation slowed to 6.6 per cent in October from 6.7 per cent in September, according to a new methodology introduced by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics last month. Under the old method, inflation eased to 17.5 per cent from 17.9.

allafrica

27 November 2009

Liberia's Poverty Reduction programs and HICP (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) initiative would be jeopardized should it lose a US$20m debt case filed in a London High Court against the country, Finance Minister Augustine Ngafaun said Thursday.

"Should Liberia lose the case that would be a nightmarish scenario for us," Minister Ngafaun told a press conference.

Two international investment funds -Hamsah Investments Limited & Wall Capital Limited have are seeking payment of some US$20m and launched a legal case in London against Liberia over a debt that dates back to 1978.

The commercial creditors, also known as "vulture funds" are demanding more than $20m (£12m) - for a US6 million debt owed since 1978.

But the Finance Minister said at a news conference Thursday that the country, via its international lawyers, has asked for a full trial to reveal the "secrecy and obscurity" associated with "vulture funds" operation.

He said the creditors are " notorious for profiting from poor countries" and that paying them as being claimed would be a violation of the HIPC conditionality and those of the Paris Club - which demand that creditors be treated equally.

The Minister said the debt was contracted from Chemical Bank of New York to build a refinery and the terms amongst others was that it should not exceed US$15 million and that August 1980 and 1985 were its repayment dates.

However the Minister says "It is unclear whether any payments were made service the loan during this time as there are no records in the MOF."

The two Caribbean-registered investment funds have launched a legal case in London against Liberia over a debt that dates back to 1978. The firms, described as "vulture funds" by critics, are suing for more than $20m (£12m) - some 5% of the Liberian government's total budget this year. Liberia says it has no money to pay the debt back and has accused the firms of profiting from poverty.

The country is recovering from a 14-year civil war which ended in 2003. The details of the case are still unclear, but it is thought that Liberia borrowed $6.5m from the US-based Chemical Bank in 1978 and that debt may have been resold a number of times. The two funds are requesting that London's High Court grant a summary judgment in the case - making Liberia liable for the debt without the need for a full hearing.

In 2002 a New York court ruled that Liberia owed $18m - the current case is an attempt to collect that sum plus interest. At the time of the New York case Liberia was wracked by civil war and did not offer a defence.

Liberian Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan told the BBC's Network Africa programme the country could not afford to repay the debt.

"We're asking everybody, we are asking even the court not to grant them summary judgment. Let them go through the normal procedure," he said.

"Our lawyers are going to work tooth and nail to battle this."

He said he hoped that the international community would take action to make sure that "these people that survive on poverty do not thrive".

UK activists are lobbying the government to change the law so such cases cannot be heard in UK courts.

Nick Dearden, of Jubilee Debt Campaign, said: "This case is absolute proof that you can't tackle vultures by voluntary means."

"Currently these companies don't have to tell us anything about themselves because they're registered in tax havens - they can just turn up in London and sue one of the poorest countries in the world."

Very little is known about the funds - Hamsah Investments and Wall Capital.

Hamsah was awarded more than $11m in a similar action against another poor country, Nicaragua.

The BBC's economics correspondent Andrew Walker says vulture funds are controversial - especially when they target nations already receiving debt relief on what they owe to rich countries.

Sometimes that debt relief is what frees the resources to pay creditors who take legal action, our correspondent says.

The solicitor representing Hamsah has not yet responded to requests for comments on the case.

allafrica

27 November 2009

Abuja — The Chief Physician to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Dr. Salisu Banye, said yesterday that the president was responding positively to treatment at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

He said the president is expected to recover soon and return to the country, but no specific day has been fixed. The president is also said to be very sad over his rumoured death.

A statement from Banye, read to the State House correspondents at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa by Presidential spokesman, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, said the president was diagnosed with, and was being treated for, Acute Pericarditis - an inflammatory condition of the covering of the heart.

The four-paragraph letter from Banye read thus:

"At about 3pm on Friday, November 20th, after he returned from the Abuja Central Mosque where he performed the Juma'at prayers, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua complained of left sided severe chest pain. Preliminary medical examinations suggested acute pericarditis (an inflammatory condition of the coverings of the heart).

"It was then decided that he should undertake confirmatory checks at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where he had his last medical check-up in August.

"The medical review and tests undertaken at the hospital have confirmed the initial diagnosis that the president is indeed suffering from Acute Pericarditis.

"He is now receiving treatment for the ailment and is responding remarkably well."

The following conversation took place between Adeniyi and reporters.

Reporters: How did the president feel about his rumoured death?

Adeniyi: He is a human being, naturally he will feel bad. This is not the first time the president was aware of the rumour. He felt bad about it as any normal human being would.

Reporters: Is the president concerned about the persistent rumours that never go away about his health conditions?

Adeniyi: What can we do? We can't legislate against rumour. There is nothing anybody can do.

Reporters: Is it true that the president performed the Hajj in Saudi?

Adeniyi: No, it is definitely not true; even before the president travelled he knew that he was not going to perform the Hajj. Even when I did the first draft for the statement, I stated that the president will do medicals and undergo Hajj, but he said no, I am not going to do Hajj. So there is no way he is going to do Hajj.

Reporters: It was alleged that the president decided to travel at midnight because he could not walk?

Adeniyi: Actually what happened was that the president was supposed to leave earlier in the day but because of the holidays in Saudi Arabia, they couldn't procure his visa on time.

Reporters: When will he come back?

Adeniyi: Once I know I will tell you. I will give you an update.

Earlier yesterday, Reuters had reported that the Saudi hospital said President Yar'Adua was in good health and might perform pilgrimage to Mecca. Yar'Adua left for Saudi Arabia on Monday for "follow-up medical checks" with his personal physicians.

"The Nigerian president is in good condition. He underwent routine internal medical checks and had lunch today at the hospital," a spokesman for the King Faisal Takhassussi Hospital in Jeddah said.

His wife, Turai, left Jeddah for Mecca with some family members on Wednesday to perform the Hajj. A headline error in THISDAY yesterday had created the impression that she just left for Saudi Arabia, whereas she travelled with her husband last Monday. THISDAY learnt that the First Lady spent most of Wednesday with the husband at the Jeddah hospital.

allafrica

27 November 2009

The government breathed a huge sigh of relief yesterday as Parliament finally passed the controversial Land (Amendment) Bill 2007.

However, Buganda Kingdom, which has provided the fiercest opposition to the Bill, issued a declaration yesterday that it would not respect the new piece of legislation which now awaits presidential assent.

"We are still opposed to the proposed land reforms and we shall continue our sensitisation to the public about its negative content," said Buganda Prime Minister John Baptist Walusimbi at a hushed news conference in Kampala. "Even when it is passed, it will remain an idle piece of legislation."

Once in force, however, the Act will hand down a seven-year jail sentence or a fine of Shs1.9 million, or both penalties, to any individual who evicts or attempts to evict tenants without order of court. The new law will offer tenants a grace period of six months before an eviction order can be effected.

The Bill's passing was, however, marred by controversy following debate on a motion moved last week by Lands Minister Omara Atubo to sanction its passing.

Chaotic floor

There were chaotic scenes on the floor as several opposition MPs contested results of a vote on the motion which saw a majority 112 MPs vote in favour while 55 voted against the motion.

MPs Odonga Otto (FDC, Aruu), Ben Wacha (Indep, Oyam North) and Amooti Otada (NRM, Kibanda) abstained.

Speaker Edward Ssekandi faced a torrid time trying to maintain order on an afternoon when tempers flared, lawmakers heckled at each other and emotion got the better part of them.

Trouble began moments after Mr Ssekandi put the motion to vote, following a lengthy response by Mr Atubo to comments by MPs on the Bill.

Mr Ssekandi chose to ask MPs to vote by voice, putting the question: "Those in favour of the motion say aye to the contrary nay," in what proved to be the first sticky point of the day.

"The ayes have it," ruled Mr Ssekandi, prompting protests from the opposition with several MPs standing up as they questioned the veracity of the results.

"Sit down, I have counted you," Mr Ssekandi said.

Sensing the amount of hostility the issue had generated, the Speaker turned to voting by show of hands. Up went the hands but several opposition MPs rose on points of procedure to question the manner of voting.

Kumi MP Patrick Amuria moved to compel the Speaker to invoke a different form of voting after he reported that several ruling party MPs who had failed to obtain seats because the chambers were packed, would render the vote suspect.

"We run the risk of double voting," said the MP. But Mr Ssekandi proceeded with the vote, asking MPs who were standing in the corridors to move to the main porch of the floor. The MPs voted in rows, with each member putting their hand up, either in favour, or against or abstaining.

Kingdom before party

Three ruling party MPs, Ibrahim Kaddunabi (Butambala), Rebecca Lukwago (Luweero Woman) and Peter Mutuluza (Mawokota North) chose to defy the wishes of their party and voted against the Bill.

It appeared that the trio, who have consistently expressed opposition against the Bill, chose to put loyalty to their kingdom, Buganda, ahead of party faith.

With defeat looming in the air, several opposition MPs stood up to protest the vote.

"We cannot hear you," they shouted. "Order, Order, Order," laboured Mr Ssekandi. "Hon. members, you should develop a culture of accepting defeat," he said.

The House was expected to proceed with scrutiny of the Bill clause by clause, but a motion by Masaka MP John Kawanga to stay proceedings to allow Muslims celebrate Idd, plunged the House into further disarray as MPs threw jibes at each other.

Mr Ssekandi was forced to suspend business for close to an hour as tempers flared on the floor.

90 minutes

And when the House reconvened, it was just a matter of clockwork as MPs passed the Bill within 90 minutes.

The House threw out Clause 32(B) of the Bill which sought to compel courts to arbitrate disputes on customary land. A new clause was introduced in the Bill that bars tenants selling their right of occupancy without giving the registered owner first priority. The Bill also empowers the Lands Minister to determine ground rent within six months after district land boards have failed to do so.

With the Land Bill assignment out of the way, Mr Atubo said the government would table a new Bill next week to effect regional tier governments.

allafrica

27 November 2009

Windhoek — "We have been here since four in the morning, my baby is tired," says Melisia Shinedhimha (24) outside the polling station in Okuruyangava, one of Windhoek's poorest townships.

Shinedhimha and other mothers sit in a circle around their sleeping infants and keep a weary eye on the queue that snakes past the building, through the gate and out onto the street.

At some polling stations people spent the night to make sure they could vote before work. Shinedhimha is lucky though, it only took eight hours of queuing for her to cast her ballot. Others had to wait longer.

"Sure you can stay at home, but what's the point? It won't get you a job. Voting keeps the politicians on their toes and might create employment."

Yes, she will probably vote for the ruling South-West African People's Organisation's (SWAPO) party, she says. But that doesn't mean everyone should. "We need a strong opposition, or SWAPO will abuse its power."

About a million Namibians - half the population - will flock to the 3,259 polling stations on November 27 and 28. Given the size of the country, the vast majority of polling stations are mobile moving from village to village. Helicopters and 4x4's will bring ballot boxes to areas cut off by rains.

President Hifikepunye Pohamba yesterday asked Namibians for "calm, peaceful and exemplary conduct," in the run up to an election that as been more controversial than normal. This is largely because the breakaway party, the Rally for Democracy and Progress, has divided SWAPO's constituency for the first time.

Controversy continued till election day when a court ruled that the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has to be admitted as an election observer. Earlier this week the Electoral Commission of Namibia stripped the NSHR of this status, because it had pointed out mistakes in the voter's roll. Mistakes found included instances of: double registration; the registration of voters after the official cut-off date; names being incorrectly struck off; and the registration of voters younger than 18 years.

Across town unemployed Loide Amadhila (33) just voted for the third time in her life. "SWAPO," she says with conviction, as she shows the coveted purple stain on her left thumb. "In 1998 they brought water to this township and in 2001 we got electricity. They put up a clinic and a school and now I hope they will bring many jobs."

Enok Injala (33) disagrees firmly. While official results will only be announced at the end of next week, Injala is strongly supporting the opposition. "I will be voting for change, definitely change," he nods. Also a third time voter, he awaits his turn, at ease in the burning sun. "It doesn't look like there will be violence today."

A shiny Toyota Prado spews out a team of election observers. "So far so good," confirms one observer from Nigeria. "This is the fourth polling station we are visiting and we haven't seen any irregularities or tensions. For us it is a learning experience, because Nigeria has elections in April 2011."

Red Cross volunteer Obed Geingob and his mates have their first aid kid at the ready since 7am, but also have little to do. Their biggest concern is the heat, not violence.

"A cut from sealing a ballot box is all the blood that was shed so far," Geingob grins.

allafrica

27 November 2009

Pretoria — The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ended one of Africa's longest and complex civil wars, with nominal agreement reached on security, wealth sharing, and governance issues. But there are renewed fears that conflict could erupt again in the country as divisions between the north and the south deepen.

Academics attending the Sudan Studies Conference in Pretoria, South Africa, say unity for the troubled country will be almost impossible to achieve. The conference was the eighth in a series of high level academic conferences on the Sudan.

Scholars from Sudan and around the world were discussing the future of the country beyond 2011, when the CPA agreed between the National Islamic Front/National Congress Party (NIF/NCP) regime in Khartoum and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) expires.

Adam Cholong, an SPLM member of the national assembly in Khartoum, says 90, if not 99 percent of the people in South Sudan want independence from the Northern government. But, he says, the Khartoum government is deliberately frustrating this aspiration, slowing down the drafting of legislation that will allow a 2011 referendum on the future of the south.

"The government in North Sudan seems to know that quite a number of South Sudanese people will vote for independence in the referendum," he said, adding that this is the reason why, the government has now stated that in addition to achieving a simple majority vote of yes to independence, there has to be an extremely high turn-out of voters in the referendum.

Khartoum began by demanding a 75 percent yes vote to confirm South Sudanese independence, before agreeing that 50 percent plus one will be enough, so long as a minimum of two thirds of registered voters will have to cast their ballots.

It's the latest skirmish in negotiations over the details of the crucial referendum which are already two years behind schedule.

Religious differences are also a huge stumbling block in a country now governed - Muslim and Christian alike - by shariah law. The experts assembled in Pretoria say this still remains a big question mark.

Sudan has a majority Muslim population, but the imposition of shariah throughout the country by the Numayri government in 1983 was a factor that precipitated civil war.

Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, an expert in Islamic law and society based at Rhode Island College in the United States, says during the negotiation of a peace agreement in 2004, it was decided that there would be shariah in the north and secularism in the south.

"Many people were sceptical about that because, millions of southerners, most of them non-Muslims, who had fled to the North as a result of the civil war would now have to be subjected to shariah law."

Since the CPA was finalised in 2005, says Fluehr-Lobban, the Khartoum government has demonstrated little political will to implement this provision.

"What my research has shown from 2004 to now is that harsh punishments - not the cutting off of hands anymore, but lashing for criminal offences, improper dress for women, the brewing of alcohol - have continued to be practiced on non-Muslims in the capital city and IDP camps."

A commission to deal with the status of non-Muslims in Khartoum was put together a few years ago, but it has not been effective. The question of the law will have to be resolved regardless of how the referendum goes in 2011.

"If they decide to unite, they would have to adopt a more secular society. If they separate, there would still be the question of the large population of non-Muslims living in the north," says Fluehr-Lobban.

Negotiating agreement on such matters is not helped by frequent stand-offs at the highest levels. Cholong says SPLM MPs have had to boycott cabinet meetings because the NIF/NCP refused to discuss vital issues like the referendum law, national security and the redrawing of North-South borders.

He sees no future for a united Sudan. "Unity is the cause of the civil conflict in the country. "Unity (of the country) has been the core of conflict, and it's clearly not what people want, otherwise would have been peace in Sudan."

allafrica

27 November 2009

An independent United Nations human rights expert today condemned the series of stonings that have been taking place in Somalia, and called for an urgent end to such "cruel, inhuman and degrading" practices.

Shamsul Bari said the public stonings, floggings and summary executions carried out by Islamist armed groups in central and southern Somalia highlight the "deteriorating" human rights situation in the strife-torn nation, where Government forces have been battling Al Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam opposition groups for many months.

Mr. Bari, the Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia, noted that under Al Shabaab's interpretation of Sharia law, anyone who has ever been married - even a divorcee - and has an affair is liable to be found guilty of adultery and punished by stoning.

According to reports from a village near the town of Wajid, 400 kilometres north-west of the capital, Mogadishu, a 20-year-old divorcee accused of committing adultery was stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of 200 people on 18 November.

Earlier this month, a man was stoned to death for rape in the port town of Merka, south of Mogadishu, and in October two men are reported to have been executed after being accused of spying. Similar executions took place earlier in the year.

"I strongly condemn these recent executions by stoning in Al Shabaab-controlled areas of Somalia," Mr. Bari stated in a news release.

He called on all parties to immediately end such cruel, inhuman and degrading practices, including stoning, amputations, floggings and other unlawful acts of torture and murder.

In addition, he urged all Islamist groups, including Al Shabaab and other armed groups, and religious leaders to abide by their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian laws.

He also urged the international community to engage with Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to identify priorities in terms of security, humanitarian and human rights, and to strengthen the Government's capacity to investigate rights abuses and hold the perpetrators accountable.

Mr. Bari reports to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity.

allafrica

27 November 2009

The Liberian Muslim Community is apparently embroiled in a scandal, with some Legislators allegedly linked, resulting into the deportation of Several Liberian Muslim members from the ongoing Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

The scandal involves a calculated plan in which huge sums of money were taken and fake passports issued to several muslins traveling to Mecca, for the annual holy pilgrimage this year.

About 22 Muslims were affected when Saudi authorities denied them entry into the holy land on grounds that their traveling documents were not proper.

A member of the National Hajj Committee and legislator, Malian Jaleibah has unearthed the criminality beclouding this year's hajj, linking four muslin legislators along with Mr. Zadom Sherriff, a diplomat who was sacked.

The Chairman of the Muslim legislative caucus Sen. Fombah Kenneh promised to comment on the matter but failed to do so when contacted.

Mr. Zadom was former President Taylor's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, but was recalled due to his alleged involvement in drug deal and money laundering.

allafrica

ABIDJAN, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire's Muslims are decrying the soaring price of sheep during the Tabaski festival, the name used in West African languages for Eid al-Adha, saying it has shot up "out of reach."

They condemned the excessive price hike on Thursday on the eve of a great Muslim festival. "The prices of sheep have doubled and in some instances, tripled. That one that I have asked for is costing 300,000 FCFA (457 euros) whereas I wanted an animal that costs 80,000 FCFA (122 euros) or 100,000 FCFA (152 euros)," complained Adama Sidibe, who was at a livestock market in Port Bouet.

As Ouattara Boureima, a teacher at a private school, he was surprised at the anarchy that reigns in the industry and which allows everyone to fix the price he wants. For him, it is not normal that sheep should have the same price as the beef cattle.

A sheep seller, Guindi Alidou, said he understood the anger of buyers, but that the fault was not theirs. "When the sheep leave Niger, Mauritania or Mali, there are so many taxes that we pay on the way. We also pay heavily to transport them to Abidjan. In order to recover our expenses, we are forced to increase the price," he explained.

However, faithful rich Muslims got themselves one or several sheep despite the high prices, estimating that this festival was symbolic and it deserved the expenditure, in any case, the expenditure was also a form of sacrifice.

In popular Abidjan residential areas like Abobo and Adjame, the less fortunate Muslims found a strategy to circumvent the price difficulties: they came together (two, four or more) to buy a sheep and then they shared the meat.

Just as others around the world, Cote d'Ivoire's Muslim community is celebrating on Friday the sheep sacrifice festival Tabaski.

OUAGADOUGOU, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The head of the delegation for the ruling National Council for Democracy and Development in Guinea, Moussa Keita, has ruled out the possibility of step-down of the military junta in the ongoing negotiations to end the crisis.

In an interview with Xinhua on Thursday before his delegation met with Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore, the mediator in the Guinea crisis, Keita, a minister and permanent secretary for the CNDD, said it is ridiculous on the part of the opposition pressure groups to demand the departure of council president Moussa Dadis Camara.

"They (members of the pressure groups) must be clear, they know the CNDD is in power. It is out of the question to ask the CNDD to go" Keita warned, stressing the CNDD's departure is not negotiable.

"Those who are speaking as pressure groups, 80 percent of them were prime minister and ministers in the different Guinean governments," the head of the CNDD delegation said. "It is those so called pressure groups who were the main actors in looting from Guinea's economy for their own well being." he declared.

Before the Sept. 28 event, Camara had stretched out his hand to the opposition for them to come and form an inclusive government, said Keita, in reference to the clash between protestors and soldiers on the day. A local human rights watch said more than 150people were killed, while the junta put the toll at 57.

"We are ready to extend a hand to them so that they can come and work with us, but this has to be in the interest of the nation," Keita said, renewing the call for the pressure groups to come to their senses and put the Guinean national interests above anything else.

The head of the delegation said that the CNDD was ready to name a prime minister through consensus who must come from one of the 96 political parties in Guinea and approved by all.

"We are ready to have a prime minister with the profile desired by the mediator, but he has to be through consensus and from one of the 96 political parties," Keita stated.

The CNDD representative said he was convinced that the pressure groups will not agree on a choice of one candidate for the prime minister's post because Guinea's political leaders are always tribal in their political entities.

"All (political leaders) have founded their parties on ethnic and regional basis," he said, adding that each of the political leaders would hope that the future prime minister comes from his tribe.

Keita viewed transparency as necessary for choosing whoever for the post, hoping he will be able to help the CNDD and the nation to come out of the woods because, after 50 years of independence, the Guinean people have not had any small bit of good life.

The CNDD delegation was scheduled to meet with President Compaore, who was named by the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) as the mediator in the Guinea crisis, then to begin direct negotiations with the pressure groups.

The West African country has suffered the crisis since the military junta seized power in December. Both the African Union and ECOWAS have suspended Guinea to press for its return to constitutional order.

HARARE, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti has written to IMF asking the international institution to urgently release 50 million U.S. dollars of the over 500 million dollars allocation to Zimbabwe to buy agricultural inputs for the current cropping season, The Herald reported on Friday.

Biti has also outlined how he wants the rest of the money used; a formula similar to that proposed by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono about two months ago.

The IMF in August allocated Zimbabwe 510 million dollars as part of the institution's efforts to assist member-states weather the global financial crisis that was triggered by a credit crunch in the United States last year.

However, the money was frozen in an IMF account after Minister Biti instructed the organisation not to release any money in what was widely viewed as a personal battle with Gono.

On Nov. 25, Biti wrote to the IMF saying the money should now be released for the purchase of inputs, though government sources said the action is "too little too late".

Biti said the money would only be allocated in the Budget but this past month suddenly saw the urgency of financing inputs procurement when many farmers have already lost hope of getting meaningful yields from the summer season.

Government sources said on Thursday that there has been a sustained and growing campaign to make Minister Biti realise the urgency of the matter.

The sources said the provision of inputs had occupied centre stage in Tuesday's Cabinet meeting after which Minister Biti dispatched the second letter to the IMF.?

LAGOS, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government said President Umaru Yar' Adua had been diagnosed of acute pericarditis(an inflammatory condition of the coverings of the heart) in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, after days of silence over his state of health, the Next newspaper reported on Friday.

Salihu Banye, the president's chief doctor, who is with him in Saudi Arabia, said this Thursday in a statement following the rumors making the rounds in the country that the president was dead.

The chief doctor said that more checks at the same hospital, where he had his last medical check-up in August, confirmed the initial diagnosis of the same condition.

"At about 3 p.m. local time on Friday, Nov. 20, after he returned from the Abuja Central Mosque where he performed the Jumat prayers, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua complained of left sided severe chest pain," Banye said in a statement, explaining the circumstances which led to the president's trip to Saudi Arabia.

"Preliminary medical examinations suggested acute pericarditis, " he added.

"It was then decided that he should undertake confirmatory checks at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where he had his last medical check-up in August," Banye said.

"The medical review and tests undertaken at the hospital have confirmed the initial diagnosis that the President is indeed suffering from acute pericarditis," the doctor added.

According to him, the president is responding well to the treatment he is currently receiving.

"He is now receiving treatment for the ailment and is responding remarkably well," Banye said.

Olusegun Adeniyi, the president's spokesperson, said the vice president is now acting on behalf of the president.

He takes charge in the absence of the president, the spokesperson said.

"In this light, he will today receive Muslims at the Presidential Villa as part of activities marking the Id-el-Kabir,"he said.

The spokesperson told reporters that the President Yar'Adua felt really bad that people rumored him dead.

"He is a human being, naturally he will feel bad. This is not the first time, the President was aware of the rumor. He felt bad about it as any normal human being would," Adeniyi said.

KOGELO, Kenya, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Pupils and students of the Senator Obama schools in Western Kenya on Friday sent their first emails using solar energy to U.S. President Barack Obama urging him to put his weight behind renewable energy in the run-up to the critical Copenhagen climate summit which is just 10 days away.

The message read: "Please President Obama do something. We just want to ask you to help other children all the over the world access solar power."

In the email, the pupils said, "Teacher Ann sees connection of climate change and the drought in Kogelo village and said that solar power is a solution to climate change. Help protect the climate, this is our future."

The students emphasized that renewable energy will help in solving the problem of climate change which is affecting Kenya and other countries.

"Some people are dying of hunger because the rains don't come like they used to, farmers experience drought and people do not have enough food to eat. We are doing our job, please do yours," they urged.

Making reference to some of the drawings of solar panels sitting at the old iron sheet roofs of their classrooms and those of Mama Sarah Obama, the grandmother of the U.S. president, the pupils informed him that hadn't it been for solar power, they would have never afforded to reach him through email.

Their counterparts at a secondary school in a separate email made a simple request asking him to use his "great office to encourage the utilization of renewable energies such as solar power".

"We want other students in communities similar to ours to be able to enjoy their education like we do here in Kogelo."

The solar power system was installed by Greenpeace Solar Generation project in August. The two schools -- Senator Obama Nyangoma Primary School and Secondary School -- are in Kogelo village, a stone's throw away from Obama's grandmother's house.

Mama Sarah also accentuated the need for solar energy saying that it "is clean, reliable and affordable, unlike paraffin that is widely used in the area".

She also got a solar-panel on her roof and is charging now mobile telephones of her young neighbours.

The ability to call on world leaders to protect the environment by such under privileged children who had never seen a computer until later this year is a reminder to world leaders ahead of the UN Climate Change summit that the world needs greener energies and this is their moment to make the breakthrough that they have promised on climate change.

KINSHASA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Republic of Congo's Red Cross office has mobilized assistance of 200,000 U. S. dollars for refugees fleeing the tribal clash in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), local media reported on Friday.

Thousands of people have been displaced by the Oct. 30 conflict over fishing rights in Dongo in the DRC's northwestern province of Equateur. A large number of refugees are taking shelter in the Republic of Congo.

Composed of blankets, mats, basins, saucepans and jerrycans, the assistance is destined for 2,000 people who are the most vulnerable among the 37,000 refugees officially registered in the Republic of Congo, a local radio station said, citing sources close to the Red Cross office.

Two weeks ago, the United Nations and the Republic of Congo distributed 15 tons of relief including foodstuffs, medical equipment, clothing, blankets, basins and mosquito nets. Last week, the DRC government also brought aid to the refugees.

On Tuesday, Lambert Mende, the minister of communication and media of the DRC, invited all refugees to return to Dongo, pledging safety and security guaranteed by the government.

KINSHASA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The communication and media minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lambert MendeOmalanga, on Thursday called on certain Western countries, especially France, Belgium, Britain and the United States, to arrest the leaders of the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Referring to a report by a group of UN independent experts, which was published at the beginning of November and forwarded to the UN Security Council, Mende demanded that these countries follow the example of Germany which arrested two high ranking officials of the FDLR.

Citing the report, Mende said the FDLR had established a network of financiers from countries in and out of Africa to supply arms and ammunitions in 2009.

The document also pointed out the recruitment bases and financial support from the DRC's neighboring countries, he said, adding that "these offences will make the government establish contact with all concerned countries in order to create synergy aimed at finally eradicating these terrorist networks that have soaked DRC with blood. This will be in conformity to the UN Security Council resolutions."

WINDHOEK, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Namibians went to polls on Friday for the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The voting will last two days and will end on Saturday.

The voters began to cast their votes at 7 a.m. local time on Friday and polling stations will close at 9 p.m. local time. The polling stations will remain open on Saturday.

In the general elections, each voter gets two ballots, one for picking up a candidate for presidency and the other for choosing a party for parliament.

A total of 14 political parties are competing for the fifth post-independence presidential and parliamentary elections in the country.

Seen as favorite to retain power by many political pundits and observers, the South Africa People's Organization (Swapo) will cross swords with its political rivals such as the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), the Congress of Democrats (CoD), All People's Party (APP) and the National Democratic Unity Organization (NUDO).

Other contestants are the Republican Party (RP), the Communist Party and Monitor Action Group (MAG).

Various political parties have mainly questioned Swapo's ability to bring about far-reaching economic and developmental change and the perceived high unemployment rate.

Swapo said it should be voted into power because it liberated the country and brought about peace, political stability and development to the uranium-rich African country such as constructing roads, clinics, hospitals and schools even in rural areas.

As a political party and former liberation movement in Namibia, Swapo has been the ruling party in Namibia since independence in 1990.

The party garnered 75 percent of popular votes and 55 out of 78 seats in the parliamentary election in 2004.

Namibia borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the east, and South Africa to the south and east. It is the second least densely populated country in the world, after Mongolia.

26 November 2009

Charles Taylor helped three major Sierra Leonean rebel commanders to reconcile their differences but such reconciliation was not for purposes of a military takeover of the country, the accused former Liberian president told Special Court for Sierra Leone judges today in The Hague.

Mr. Taylor was responding to questions during his cross-examination today on his decision to host Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader Foday Sankoh, his deputy Sam Bockarie and Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) leader Johnny Paul Koroma in a meeting in Liberia. Mr. Taylor explained that after the signing of the peace agreement between the government of Sierra Leone and the RUF in 1999, there were certain differences between the RUF and the AFRC which needed to be resolved in order to make the peace agreement successful. Prosecution counsel Mr. Nocholas Koumjian today suggested to Mr. Taylor that he wanted to help the rebel commanders reconcile their differences in order to restore a military regime in Sierra Leone.

"Did you invite Foday Sankoh, Sam Bockarie and Johnny Paul Koroma to Liberia for reconciliation on how to return to military power in Sierra Leone?" Mr. Koumjian asked Mr. Taylor.

Mr. Taylor responded with a resounding "No."

The AFRC which was formed by members of the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) overthrew the elected government of Sierra Leone in 1997 and formed a merger with the RUF. The AFRC/RUF junta regime ruled Sierra Leone until 1998 when they were forcefully removed from the country's capital by West African peacekeepers. In 1999, the government signed a peace agreement with the rebel forces in the Togolese capital, Lome.

Mr. Taylor agreed with Mr. Koumjian today that when the three rebel commanders met in Liberia, the government of Sierra Leone was not represented there.

Why not invite the government of Sierra Leone?" Mr. Koumjain asked.

"Because the government of Sierra Leone was not part of the issues between them. There was bad blood between the SLAs and the RUF and their purpose was to sort out that bad blood," Mr. Taylor said.

Mr. Taylor said that Sierra Leonean president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah "was kept informed" of the meeting between the rebel commanders in Liberia.

Mr. Taylor insisted that the meeting with the rebel commanders in Liberia was necessary to make the peace agreement between the Sierra Leone government and the rebels successful. He explained that at the signing of the peace agreement in Togo, a decision was taken to make RUF leader Mr. Sankoh vice president of Sierra Leone but nothing was said about what position should be given to AFRC leader Mr. Koroma. It was at the meeting in Liberia, of which President Kabbah was kept informed, that a decision was taken to make Mr. Koroma the Chairman for the Commission for Consolidation of Peace (CCP), Mr. Taylor said. Mr. Taylor said that he kept other West African leaders informed of these developments.

"I did not act alone," Mr. Taylor said.

"I was on the phone with with Obasanjo [Nigerian president], Eyadema [Togolese president] and Kabbah [Sierra Leonean president]. I was not a lone ranger in this. Johnny Paul Koroma needed assurance and i assured him," he added. According to the former Liberian president, it was after this reconciliatory meeting in Liberia that the RUF and AFRC leaders decided to travel together to Sierra Leone. They were received in Sierra Leone by president Kabbah, Mr. Taylor said.

On Mr. Koumjian's suggestion that "that was not the purpose of the meeting" in Liberia, Mr. Taylor responded that "if Kabbah as the legitimate president of Sierra Leone did not want them in Sierra Leone, he would not have allowed them."

Mr. Taylor explained that Nigerian president "Obasanjo sent them a plane, he sent me 225,000 USD for them and i sent them to Sierra Leone."

Right through his testimony as a witness in his defense, Mr. Taylor has insisted that his involvement with Sierra Leonean rebels was purely for peaceful purposes in the West African country. He has explained that upon his election as president of Liberia, he became a member of the Committee of Five, a body set up by West African leaders with a mandate of facilitating a peaceful end to the conflict in Sierra Leone. Prosecutors on the otherhand have alleged that Mr. Taylor was involved in a joint criminal enterprise with the RUF rebels in Sierra Leone. The rebels, prosecutors say, used to transport Sierra Leone's blood diamonds to Mr. Taylor in Liberia and that in return, the Liberian president gave them supplies of arms and ammunition for use in Sierra Leone. Mr. Taylor has said that he did not have arms and ammunition to fight rebel forces in his own country and therefore could not have supplied any materials to the RUF. As he continues his testimony, the former president has challenged prosecutors to present evidence that he used Sierra Leone's diamonds to enrich himself and open bank accounts in various countries as alleged. From July 14 to November 10, Mr. Taylor testified in direct-examination as a witness in his own defense. As his cross-examination commenced, prosecutors sought to present "fresh evidence" to impeach Mr. Taylor's testimony but the accussed former president's defense objected, calling it a "trial by ambush." The judges will use Monday to determine whether such "fresh evidence" should be used by the prosecution. There will therefore be not court hearings on Monday.

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26 November 2009

Abuja — The Presidency came clear yesterday to announce that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is suffering from acute pericarditis, an inflammatory condition of the covering of the heart.

But it allayed fears over the 58-year-old President's health condition, saying that he is responding "remarkably well" at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Chief Physician to the President, Dr. Salisu Banye, said in a terse statement entitled, "President Yar'Adua's Health Condition", the President, who is responding to treatment for his ailment, was diagnosed of having "acute pericarditis".

The doctor said, "At about 3pm on Friday, November 20, after he returned from the Abuja Central Mosque where he performed the Juma'at prayers, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua complained of left sided severe chest pain. Preliminary medical examinations suggested Acute Pericarditis (an inflammatory condition of the coverings of the heart).

"It was then decided that he should undertake confirmatory checks at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where he had had his last medical check-up in August.

"The medical review and tests undertaken at the hospital have confirmed the initial diagnosis that the President is indeed suffering from acute pericarditis."

Banye added, "He is now receiving treatment for the ailment and is responding remarkably well".

The latest revelation has introduced a new dimension to what was usually known to be the President's medical condition -- a chronic kidney condition for at least 10 years.

Officials used to deny rumours that the President was seriously ill and Yar'Adua himself used to dismiss inquiries regarding the exact nature of his ailment with the insistence that his life was "in the hands of God".

According to the American Heart Association, pedicarditis usually lasts one to three weeks, but is treatable with drugs or, in extreme cases, surgery. About 20 percent of pericarditis patients have a recurrence within months.

BBC health reporter Michelle Roberts says most cases of pericarditis clear up with rest and medication within a few weeks, although patients will initially need to be treated in hospital to check for complications.

The Merck Manuals, an online medical library, said, "Acute pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium that begins suddenly", which is often painful, and causes fluid and blood components such as fibrin, red blood cells, and white blood cells to pour into the pericardial space.

"Infection and other conditions that can irritate the pericardium cause pericarditis; fever and chest pain, which may feel like a heart attack, are common symptoms. Diagnosis is based on symptoms and by hearing a tell-tale sound when listening to the heartbeat with a stethoscope.

"People are hospitalised and given drugs to reduce pain and inflammation. Acute pericarditis usually results from infection or other conditions that irritate the pericardium. Infection is usually due to a virus but may be caused by bacteria, parasites (including protozoa), or fungi.

"In some inner city hospitals, AIDS is the most common cause of pericarditis with extra fluid in the pericardial space (pericardial effusion). In people who have AIDS, a number of infections, including tuberculosis, may result in pericarditis.

"Pericarditis due to tuberculosis (tuberculous pericarditis) accounts for less than 5% of cases of acute pericarditis in the United States but accounts for the majority of cases in some areas of India and Africa."

The world respected medical library said other conditions could irritate the pericardium and thus can cause acute pericarditis.

"These conditions include a heart attack, heart surgery, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, kidney failure, injury, cancer (such as leukemia and, in people with AIDS, Kaposi's sarcoma), rheumatic fever, an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism), radiation therapy, and leakage of blood from an aortic aneurysm, a bulge in the wall of the aorta.

"After a heart attack, acute pericarditis develops during the first day or two in 10 to 15% of people and after about 10 days to 2 months in 1 to 3%. Acute pericarditis may occur as a side effect of certain drugs, including anticoagulants."

The symptoms, according to it, include fever and chest pain, which typically extends to the left shoulder and sometimes down left arm. The pain may be similar to that of a heart attack, except that it tends to be made worse by lying down, swallowing food, coughing, or even deep breathing. The accumulating fluid or blood in the pericardial space puts pressure on the heart, interfering with its ability to pump blood. If the pressure is too high, cardiac tamponade - a potentially fatal condition - may occur.

Yar'Adua's doctor's statement underscored the seriousness with which the Presidency viewed the rumours making the round that the illness might have degenerated to the worst situation.

It could be recalled that President Yar'Adua called off his scheduled 2010 budget presentation before a joint session of the National Assembly last week Thursday as a result of the face-off between the Senate and the House of Representatives, insisting that he would only perform the obligation when both chambers decide to resolve their differences.

The sudden cancellation, however, fuelled fears that the reasons might be more than the altercation between both chambers.

The fear was, however, heightened when, instead of returning to the National Assembly last Tuesday to present the budget as reported, his office announced that he was jetting out to Saudi Arabia for further medical check-up.

He dispatched his Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, to perform the constitutional ritual on his behalf.

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26 November 2009

Rome — Born in a squatter camp in Orlando East and raised by a single mother; working in a factory while completing secondary school by correspondence; arrested and banned by the apartheid government: South Africa's ambassador to Italy is an example of the long road her country has travelled.

In the context of an international conference on gender violence and the role of media in Rome - organised by Inter Press Service and supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the City of Rome - Mtintso, a gender activist and former journalist, spoke with IPS about the story behind the scenes of the fight for gender equality in South Africa.

IPS: South Africa is in the sixth best position in the latest Global Gender Gap index by the World Economic Forum. "The latest data reveal that South Africa made significant improvements in female labour force participation in addition to gains for women in parliament and in ministerial positions in the new government. South Africa holds the top spot of the region in political empowerment." Do you feel vindicated?

THENJIWE MTINTSO: There is a sense of vindication, yes. Also of awareness, in the sense that, when I was a journalist in the 1970s, (the issue of the discrimination against women) was sometimes considered out of place (within the struggle against apartheid), to the point that some women were wondering 'are we talking foolish?' The view among the people undertaking the social struggle against the apartheid regime was that, since women are part of the nation, there was no need to make a difference.

I consider this success story a direct effect of the struggle for equality for women (of that period). It is thanks to the women who were part of the struggle for national liberation and gender equality, women who formed the movement, who achieved a unity across races, that we are where we are.

In that in a particular political environment, in which women felt the pressure from different fronts, that it was possible that white and black women were united. White women were the wives and black women were the domestic help. Men in reality had two wives.

So women were driven closer in the environment previous to the first elections (in 1994). They got together and decided they weren't going to let men speak on their behalf.

IPS: You have highlighted that fact that South Africa is in a better position than Italy (ranked 72 in the GGG index).

TM: There is a historical difference. We have undergone a huge crisis. The struggles that we went through created a different dynamic that made this possible.

IPS: However we are talking about a country that has the world's highest number of rapes per capita (1.19538 per 1,000 people), according to Seventh U.N. Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems, covering the period 1998-2000. More than 25 percent of South African men questioned admitted to raping someone, according to a recent study conducted by the Medical Research Council (MRC). What are the main areas in which discrimination is still pervasive?

TM: This problem is very serious. With the improvements, there have been backlashes. What happened is that the faster we were going (in terms of gender equality), the more challenges men were facing. And some of them were not ready to be led by women, they were not ready to have their women earning more, they were not ready to transfer leadership roles to women.

Unfortunately, the violence was a response. We have young men beating young women. The economic strains are making things worse. Men are supposed to provide for their families (while the crisis is affecting their capacity to do so). Men's frustrations combine against women.

But although the statistics are correct, there is now more reporting (in violence against women). So the increase in reporting is showing too in the statistics.

IPS: Another African country, Lesotho, has advanced six positions, from 16th to 10th, getting in the elite list of the ten countries with the narrowest gender gaps in the world. Among the ten best positioned countries there are six Europeans, two Africans, two from the Asia-Pacific region. In fact, Liberia has the continent's first female head of state, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (women serve in senior positions in several other countries as speakers of parliament, prime ministers and vice-presidents). And the legislature of Rwanda has the highest proportion of women in the world, with 56 percent of members of parliament being women... Do these developments say something about Africa in general?

TM: This is our time. South Africa, and Africa in general, can avoid repeating the mistakes other countries have done because we can learn from other's experiences. We were only liberated in the 1990s, so we are walking together towards democracy and equality.

Tanzania is implementing a system of female quotas; South Africa has quotas in its ruling party. Others are implementing mechanisms to attain equality. And all this has had an impact on the quantities. And without quantity, quality is not possible.

IPS: You mentioned the economic crisis. The GGG report suggests there is a direct link between low gender gaps and high economic performance. One African example is Chad (ranked 133 in the GGG index, ahead of only Yemen). At the other end of the spectrum, South Africa fares quite well, 45th out of 133 countries.

TM: There is a lesson to be learned. The economic and political environment is critical for the advancement of gender equality.

You have higher gender equality when development allows gender advances, although you have exceptions like Rwanda (with a narrow gender gap and low levels of development).

But it works the other way around too. When you free the potential of women, which is locked out by constraints and discrimination, you grow faster.

You grow differently too. Women can provide innovative ways to stimulate entrepreneurship. Women who are involved in small businesses have different experiences that can be valuable for development. Involving more women is likely to have a positive impact on economic and social advancement.

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26 November 2009

Windhoek — Gender activists foresee a drop in female parliamentarians after Namibia's general and presidential elections on November 27 and 28. It's a trend that jeopardises the region's goal of 50 percent female representation in politics by 2015.

"Political parties do not put their money where their mouth is," says Sarry Xoagus-Eises, country organiser for Gender Links, a non-governmental organisation that promotes gender equality throughout the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

"In their manifestos parties enshrine equal opportunities for men and women, but when the candidate list comes out, it's dominated by men."

A recent workshop of Gender Links and the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) network revealed a likely drop from 30.8 percent to 25 percent in the female caucus in parliament. This outcome is based on a comparison of election forecasts, and women candidates' ranking on 13 out of 14 lists of participating political parties.

"It looks like the next National Assembly will have below 30 percent representation for women, which will be a backward step for Namibia, and make the achievement of gender parity by 2015 highly unlikely," confirms Graham Hopwood, political analyst and director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in Windhoek, supplier of the data Gender Links used in its forecast.

The prediction most likely means business as usual for Namibia, which scored a participation rate for women of only 26 percent in the 2004 elections. This percentage rose in the years after, as women took the place of male members of parliament (MPs) who left.

But business as usual is nowhere near good enough, argue activists. Especially since 52 percent of the voters are female.

The 2008 SADC Protocol on Gender and Development has set an ambitious objective of raising the number of women in decision-making positions to 50 percent by 2015, in line with African Union targets. It's one of 28 goals the SADC heads of state (all men) set to improve gender equality.

But out of the 16 member states of the regional bloc, only South Africa - where female representation in parliament shot up from 33 percent to 43.5 percent after the 2009 elections - seems on track.

Botswana, after elections in mid-October, saw its number of female representatives dwindle from 11 percent to a dismal 6.5 percent, consigning the country to the bottom of the league.

According to Gender Links, Namibia ranks fifth in SADC and 87th worldwide in terms of female representation. Currently 24 out of 72 elected MPs are women. At the local government level Namibia scores much better, with 43 percent of councillors being female, second only to Lesotho where women dominate local politics (58 percent).

"This success is due to a quota for women candidates at this level," clarifies Xoagus-Eises. "Because of this quota we are pretty sure we will hit the 50 percent mark in the 2010 local elections. It's also easier to mobilise women in the communities. Local politics are about the grassroots issues, and that's exactly where women are."

"But we also need women in parliament," she stresses. That's why Namibia needs a voluntary quota like South Africa or Tanzania, Xoagus-Eises says. "Only with a quota system can you ensure enough women get put in the top 15."

But the trend is the reverse. "The ruling SWAPO (South-West African People's Organisation ) Party has only two women in the top 10. Overall women make up only 23.6 percent of the SWAPO list. Civil society has tried to convince the electoral commission of the need for a quota, but we are at a dead end," Xoagus-Eises says.

In Namibia there are no female presidential candidates, and the cabinet of 25 counts only six women. SWAPO holds 55 seats in parliament, a portion that's expected to decrease slightly in the upcoming polls.

"Where does that leave the minister of gender, equality and child welfare, who's placed 63 on the list?" wonders Xoagus-Eises.

Other parties fare little better. A SWAPO breakaway faction, the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), expected to garner a significant share of the votes, has only seven women on its 72-member list, or 9.7 percent.

Apart from the absence of a quota, Xoagus-Eises blames traditional and patriarchal attitudes for the poor showing of women on party lists.

"When the electoral college convenes it's the men who get voted in. It's a socialisation issue, the conviction that politics is best left to the men, and that the role of women is elsewhere."

This sentiment is shared by aspiring female politicians. "Political parties do not see women as their partners. The Namibian context is dominated by male voices," says Maria da Conceiçaó Lourence, candidate for the Namibian Democratic Movement for Change (DMC).

"Parties totally don't care about women's rights. Legislation like the Marital Equality Act or the Maintenance Act is passed, but these things are never really enforced. Every morning dozens of women queue up at the magistrate's court to fight for their payments."

Da Conceiçaó Lourence says: "We, the mothers, sisters and wives, are the ones that are hurt. It's time we get a woman president to change things. The men have proved they can't."

Tradition also determines who women vote for, she says. "You don't vote for yourself, you do as you are told. A woman listens to what her husband says, which means they will vote for men."

Gretchen Boois, number 10 on list of the largest opposition party, the Congress of Democrats (CoD), doesn't believe women do not vote for each other. "That's a story made up by men. Everywhere I go the first thing women want to know is how many ladies there are on the list, and what place they occupy."

CoD is the only party that has adopted a zebra-style representation list by alternating men and women, earning praise from women's groups. Three out of its five MPs are women.

"Women shouldn't just be voted into power, but be given real decision-making positions," feels Boois. "Only then can they wield influence and clear the way for a new generation of female decision-makers. Only they can level the playing field, because they understand what it takes to come from nowhere."

She admits that it's not easy. "Because of our cultural upbringing, women aren't confident speaking in public," she says. "We tend to keep quiet."

Researchers support these observations. "In general, parties pay lip service to gender- equity issues. Very few adopt regulations that would lead to more balanced representation," says Hopwood.

"The only means of achieving a 50-50 situation by 2015 would involve enforcing a zebra-quota system by amending the Electoral Act before the 2014 elections.

"However, it is not only about numbers. IPPR research into MPs' contributions to debates in the National Assembly from 2005 to 2007 found that a high proportion of women MPs rarely spoke in parliament, effectively acting as 'bench warmers'," Hopwood says.

"Quite a few of those MPs were left off party lists because they were perceived to be under-performing. So we should also look at the overall quality of MPs, and the effectiveness of women MPs, particularly in a party list system where they are chosen by parties rather than voters.

Hopwood says parties need to introduce their own gender empowerment programmes and training for prospective MPs.

Boois agrees training is needed. "We need to remove these barriers and train women in public speaking. Because we are actually much better in arguing a point. Unlike men we leave our egos at the door and focus on the issue."

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